There is a story about a poor woman named Faith, walking down a busy city street. She notices that a wealthy woman has lost her purse and can’t pay for a daily newspaper. Faith reaches into her pocket and pays the vendor.

The rich woman is dumbfounded and insists that the vendor give the money back. Faith grabs the rich woman’s arm and says: “Can’t you just let me do something now and then-to stretch the soul?

The virtue of Faith helps us understand our place in the world. It helps us when we see injustice, arrogance, poverty and sinfulness in ourselves and gives us the ability to change, no matter how often we fall or how low, for the love of Jesus.

The essence of the Christian life is the awareness that I have a specific relationship with the Blessed Trinity from which I don’t want to be separated but towards which, in some mysterious way, I am always attracted. So when Jesus says, ‘I am the Bread of Life,’ do I really believe?

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When the disciples returned from their mission, so many people were after them, that Jesus took the disciples with Him to be alone and quiet. Here we see what might be called the rhythm of the Christian life. For the Christian, life is a continuous going into the presence of God from the world, and then going out into the world from the presence of God. It is like the rhythm of sleep and work. We cannot work efficiently or well unless we have enough sleep. Sleep will not be sound unless we have worked well and long.

This rhythm reveals two dangers in life. There is the danger of having a too active life. And, there is the danger that in all this activity, we could lose our way home. No person can work without rest and no Christian can rest unless he gives himself to God.

Continue reading ““Beside restful waters He leads me.”” →

If you look up the word ‘envy’ in the dictionary, it means ‘A feeling of resentment aroused by a desire for the possessions or qualities of another.’ If envy goes unchecked, it can destroy everything we love and care for.

The Olympics date back to the Greek games held on the plains of Olympus in 776 BC. Ancient towns often honored the victorious with statues. One day an envious loser rocked the statue of his opponent until it fell. The problem was, the statue fell the wrong way and crushed him to death.

There are times when we can feel envious of a new car, new kitchen, a better promotion and these feelings can overwhelm us. Envy is a grave sin and thus leads you into a self-absorbed obsession that blocks out reality and the true dignity of another person.

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What we celebrate during these Easter weeks is our new life in Christ. Saint John says:” See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.” And yet he warns us that the world will never know us because it will never recognize Him.

We forget that the Church will never belong totally to the world and that the world will never fully accept the Church. In fact, if we find we ourselves becoming accepted by the world, we know we have become too complacent. The Church flourishes when it suffers, like Jesus on the Cross.

So, we need to be careful if we are to lead this new life, we need to be watchful that the seeds of this world are not nourished but rather are rooted out by our vigilance in prayer and in the reception of the sacraments.

Continue reading “Christ has always been the ‘stone rejected’” →

 

The opening words of the second reading, sets the tone for our reflection on this Laetare Sunday. “God…is rich in mercy.” God gives us time to repent and believe, always one more chance to surrender to His Will. God is indeed rich in mercy.

But, we have also learned that He can be just. He can get angry. Look at the first reading from Chronicles. Priests and people had polluted the temple in Jerusalem with infidelity. When the Lord showed them mercy, they mocked, despised and scoffed Him. And even then, God gave them another chance through Cyrus of Persia, a person we least expect.

Jesus spoke to Nicodemus,” For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” God is rich in mercy and to remind us at every turn, His Son dwells among us, here on this Altar, among you His Holy People and out there among the marginalized and the lost.

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